Selah

“war is beautiful only in parades” – zbigniew herbert

consider this: a brick building, three stories high –
scattered for three blocks after the discord of a tank’s canon

pause

a medal encased in a velvet box

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the pigtailed girl waving
with red and white streamers holding tufts of hair out against the blue background sky
– her eyes as stars –
she waits on Main St. for the marching band and the free candy from P.O.W.s

pause…pause

there is no "beautiful"
- only irony –
for one man’s parade is another man’s grave

hear poem in wav audio